The invention relates to a carrier for containers and, more particularly, to a hand held carrier for a multiple number of bottles exhibiting a generally annular, neck collar.
Beverages are now obtainable in a wide variety of containers. These containers include cartons, jugs, cans, bottles and soft sided pouches in numerous sizes and shapes. A common problem confronted in the manufacture of the containers is how to make them readily transportable and/or carriable by the consumer. One solution has been to incorporate a handle into the container itself.
While containers exhibiting handles are given various names, they are often referred to as jugs, two examples of which are the plastic milk jug and the liquid detergent jug. These containers are typically formed by extruding a high density polyethylene preform and blow molding the preform into conformity with a mold cavity. Prior to blow molding, the two halves of the mold are clamped around the extruded polyethylene preform. During clamping, a portion of the mold impales that portion of the polyethylene which will become the handle. Unfortunately, this procedure may not be employed with all the materials used to form containers.
Another method which provides a handle for carrying beverage containers is seen in the thin plastic rings commonly used with six containers or six-packs.
One container which is neither susceptible to the incorporation of a handle during blow molding nor to the incorporation thin plastic rings is the common two liter plastic bottle. While two liters is a common size, bottles formed by the method discussed below can be found in numerous volumetric configurations. These bottles are formed by blow molding polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and are commonly referred to as PET bottles. While PET is readily blown into conformity with the interior surfaces of a mold cavity, it is incapable of being extruded and lacks the characteristics necessary for incorporating a handle during the blowing process.
Typically, in blow molding a PET bottle, a parison or preform is heated and positioned in a mold cavity. The parison is secured and aligned within the mold by the mold clamping around a closure mouth and a neck ring or collar formed on the neck of the preform. Once adequately heated, the parison is blown into conformity with a mold cavity exhibiting the desired bottle shape. When so formed, the PET bottles tend to exhibit a generally cylindrical shape which lacks any structure specifically designed to allow the consumer to grasp the bottle.
As seen above, a limitation of the PET bottle is the awkwardness with which it is carried. If only one bottle is being carried, the problem is not overly burdensome. The bottle is merely grasped about its midsection or, alternatively, by two fingers on opposing sides of the neck region beneath the neck collar, and carried in that manner. However, when attempting to carry two or more bottles, the problem becomes compounded and the difficulty increases.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a carrier for two or more bottles.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a carrier from which the bottles are readily removable, thus enabling reuse of the carrier.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a carrier for use with bottles exhibiting a neck ring or collar.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a carrier which is both inexpensive to produce and easy to use.
The present invention provides a bottle carrier which includes a central handle and a number of bottle supporting structures positioned therearound. The bottle supporting structures are generally triangular in shape and include three integrally connected sides or legs which define an opening through which the neck of the bottle may be inserted. Each leg is provided with an inwardly projecting shoulder. The shoulders cooperate to define an area having a radial dimension that is less than the radius of the neck ring, but greater than the radius of the closure mouth. The bottle is engaged with the carrier by inserting the closure mouth and neck ring up through the opening. The closure mouth passes through the opening but the neck ring engages an upwardly inclined ramp portion of the shoulder. Further insertion of the bottle causes the legs and shoulders to deflect outwardly. Complete insertion of the bottle will cause the neck ring to pass over a ledge on the shoulder. The shoulders and legs then snap over the neck ring allowing the bottle to be supported in the carrier by a nesting engagement between neck ring and the ledge of the shoulder. Once the desired number of bottles have been inserted into the carrier, the bottles may be easily carried by grasping and lifting the handle of the carrier.
Additional benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates from the subsequent description of the preferred embodiments and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.